Second Chance
by reckiewriter
Summary: Gibbs is given an opportunity to have something he always wanted from someone he met while in Basic Training
1. Chapter 1

The office was quiet, all his team members were busy with their assignments and Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs sat at his desk and looked more closely at the letter that was addressed to him. Turning over the envelope Gibbs opened the letter.

_**Dear Jethro,**_

_**I don't know if you will remember me but its been over twenty five years since you and I have seen each other. I was a waitress at a coffee shop that you used to frequent called the Daily Grind near the Camp Lejune. You came whenever you had leave and spent hours at the bar talking about your life. I would spend the early hours of the morning listening to you. I'm not sure how long all that talking finally led to something more but it did one night after you walked me home to my apartment. Our intimate relations lasted only that one time, as you were shipped out soon after that for more intensive training and I never saw you again. I heard through some of the other officers that you got married and then you were shipped out to the Middle East. I had some difficulties tracking you down, but I was able to find your work address so I hope that sending this letter to you there isn't a problem. I am currently living close to DC and was hoping that we'd be able to reconnect. I realize that this is a strange request but I do wish to speak to you directly. My contact information is located below.**_

_**Thank you for your time, with sincere regards Cecilia Jenkins.**_

Gibbs remember the young woman that worked at the coffee shop. He hadn't given her much thought over the years though, but as he sat thinking he remembered Cecilia as pleasant woman, with a happy smile and sparkling eyes that showed all her emotions. He had visited the coffee shop mostly to see her, but the coffee had been good too. He had also been writing Shannon during that time too and their relationship although long distance was also starting to go in a direction he was interested in going, guilt after that one night affair had made Gibbs take the first transfer out of Lejune. Gibbs looked at the contact information below and turned to his computer to send a brief reply to Cecilia. Just as he finished the email the phone rang.

"Grab your gear!" Gibbs barked and his team jumped into action.

Gibbs walked slowly into the coffee shop. After a few emails back and forth they thought it fitting to meet up with each other in a place similar to where they met. Gibbs had already grabbed his coffee and sat facing the door.

"Jethro?" A woman approached the table. She looked gaunt and frail, her hair was cropped short to her head and her skin looked washed out despite the makeup that was tastefully applied and although the outfit she wore had a very attractive appeal the cloths hung on her body. The woman smiled and the sparkle that Gibbs remembered returned to her eyes.

"Cecilia." Gibbs returned and stood to help her with the chair.

"Well you haven't changed too much. A little greyer around hairline but still very much the same" Cecilia smiled warmly.

"I wish I could say the same thing to you." Gibbs started.

"I know I look like crap." Cecilia started. "I was diagnosed with stage four breast cancer. I've fought the good fight these past few years, but there isn't much more the doctors can do now that it's spread into my lungs."

"Cecilia I'm sorry."

"So am I."

"Is that why you sent me letter? You wanted to tell me personally?" Gibbs continued to question.

"I heard that you were a NCIS Special Agent, you sound like your investigating a crime scene or something." Cecilia smiled and pulled out a small envelope from her bag. "Yes Gibbs I'm trying to connect with people before this crazy disease takes me away. Although connecting with you is more personal than the rest." She pushed the envelope towards him. Gibbs took the envelope and opened it pulling out several items including a few photos. A young girl was in several of the pictures with Cecilia through various stages of life. The girl looked a lot like Cecilia but there were several features that looked vaguely familiar.

"Your daughter?"

"Yes." Cecilia nodded.

"She's beautiful." Gibbs returned politely.

"I'm glad you think so Jethro, because she is also your daughter as well." Cecilia shared.

Gibbs looked down at the pictures again and then back up to Cecilia.

"Excuse me?" Gibbs asked again.

"I tried to hint at this in the letter I wrote to you. I didn't know any other way to tell you." Cecilia took a deep breath. "I included some more personal information about Hannah in the envelope. I figured that you might have access to someone who could run a DNA test if you need one. Before you walk away from me again, I just want to share with you that you do have a daughter. I wasn't dating anyone else at the time and the dates work out perfectly. I raised Hannah mostly on my own her entire life and she isn't currently looking for you. She knows that you have another family and it was my choice to keep her from you. She's not a child to ask too many questions, she's loyal and loving. I just wanted you to know before she possibly showed up at your door." Cecilia paused, the small speech she just gave looked like it wore her out. "It was good seeing you again Jethro, the contact information I gave you will allow you to connect with Hannah as well if you want too." Cecilia stood up, paused to gain her balance and turned to leave. "Have a good life Jethro." Gibbs stood and watched Cecilia leave before turning back to the pictures of the woman that apparently was his daughter.


	2. Chapter 2

Gibbs came into the Forensic lab, Abby's music blared loudly as he came towards her.

"What brings my favourite Special Agent to my lab today? I have nothing for you." Abby smiled as Gibbs held up the envelope.

"I need your help." Gibbs started. "It's not about any of the cases we're working on though, it's more of private matter."

"Anything for you Gibbs." Abby took the envelope.

"Could you run a DNA test on the two samples in this envelope?"

"Absolutely. I'll have the results by the end of the day." Abby smiled and dumped the items onto her table. "Is there anything else that I can do for you."

"Just give me the results when you get them."

"No problemo." Abby nodded, before leaving Gibbs gave Abby a light kiss on the forehead and then turned on his heal and went back upstairs. Cecilia sounded so sure that her daughter was his, only the DNA test could assure that, as he stood in the elevator he pulled the picture of the girl out of his pocket and traced it lightly with his thumb.

* * *

"Special Agent Gibbs in my office!" Director Vance barked from his catwalk outside of MTAC. Gibbs pulled himself out of his thoughts enough to give the man a nod before leaving his desk to head up the stairs.

"Well it's official then.." Timothy McGee commented as their boss left the office area.

"What's official?" Tony DiNozzo asked from his desk. Tony stretched his body out on in his chair and rested his hands behind his head.

"The Director has noticed Gibb's strange behaviour. He's been more distant and quiet this week. He looked almost white when Abby gave him her report yesterday too." Tim shared his observations with his partners.

"Gibbs is always quiet." Ziva David commented. "He does not need to speak constantly, unlike some other people I know." Ziva shared as she looked over at Tony.

"I do not talk constantly!" Tony defended himself. "Although Gibbs hasn't snuck up on me this week, it's not like him."

"You two worry too much about Gibbs, he is fine." Ziva snorted and returned back to her work, although she'd never admit it out loud she too had noticed that their boss was somewhat distracted lately.

* * *

"So are you going to tell me what's going on?" Vance asked as the two men stood in the Directors office.

"Not much to share sir, we're having no serious problems with the case. My team are continuing with the investigation and are currently pursing the most promising leads."

"I'm not talking about the current case Gibbs." Vance continued and sat down slowly. Gibbs stood looking out the window. "You've been running background checks on people that are not involved in any cases we're doing. You had Ms Scutio run some tests for you. What is it about?"

Gibbs paused for a moment before pulling out the picture of Hannah and handed it to his friend.

"Who is she?" Vance asked. "She's a little young even for you to be thinking of dating, don't you think?"

"Her name is Hannah, and she apparently is my daughter." Gibbs sighed and sat down across from Vance. Gibbs shared with him the one night stand, the letter and then the meeting a few days earlier with Cecilia.

"Are you positive that she's your daughter?" Vance asked.

"Abby came back with the DNA tests, our DNA match to a 99.9%" Gibbs shared and Vance looked a little more interested.

"Have you spoken with her yet?"

"No."

"You've done a background check on this girl?"

"Her name is Hannah Grace Jenkins and she is twenty five years old. She is married too Lieutenant Keith Douglas of the Marines. Currently they live on Quanitco. Hannah has a degree in special education, but is currently not working as she is staying home to raise their daughter who will be 18 months of Friday, Cecilia never married and raised Hannah on her own. Other than the few speeding tickets she got while she was a teenager it Hannah appears to have lived a good life till now."

"You find out not only that you have a daughter, you also have a grandchild?" Vance asked incredulously.

"A lot to take in a week."

"So, what are you going to do?"

"I don't know." Gibbs returned honestly.

"I'd figure it out soon Gibbs. You aren't on you're A game right now and until you decide what to do you won't be." Vance ordered.

"Yes sir." Gibbs nodded understanding what the Director was saying and left the office. Looking over the office space Gibbs noticed that his team were all standing up and grabbing their gear.

"Boss we've got a lead." Tony told him as the team headed out the door.

"Let's go." Gibbs encouraged and followed his team out the office.

* * *

"She's near the end now." The Hospice nurse shared as Hannah came into the room. "The doctor has increased her morphine, but she's asking not to have it yet as she wants to see you."

"Thanks Karen, your help is greatly appreciated." Hannah nodded and walked into the hospital room. She put her small daughter into the play yard that she had brought up a few weeks prior for her to play in while Hannah sat with her mother. The child always made her mother smile and Hannah new it was important for her to still see her for as long as she could. The child went towards her toys without a whimper. "Hannah, you might want to tell your mom's friend too."

"Friend?" Hannah asked confused. "Mom's been living with Keith and I for the past six months. She doesn't have any friends locally."

"She's had a man coming to see her pretty consistently for the past two weeks. He comes late in the evening after you leave." Karen shared. Hannah shrugged her shoulders.

"Maybe he's from her book club."

"I'll leave you with your mom, ring if you need anything." Karen then walked down the hallway towards the nursing station. Hannah bent over the play yard and kissed her daughter's head. "I'm just going to sit with Gramma."

"Okay." The child agreed and bent over to the toys.

"Momma?" Hannah asked as she moved closer to her mother's bed and took her spot in the chair.

"Oh Hannah, I've been waiting for you."

"Karen told me that the doctor wants to increase your pain meds and you didn't want to. Can you tell me why?" Hannah asked.

"I need to tell you some things before it's too late, and the medicine just makes me tired and want to sleep."

"It helps with the pain Momma, you shouldn't be in any pain now." Hannah sighed and took hold of her mother's hand.

"I've kept secrets from you." Cecilia started to share and Hannah took a breath. "Don't interrupt me, I only have enough energy to share with you once, not argue with you about things." Hannah stopped her thought and nodded. "I raised you with the understanding that your Father was a Marine who fought overseas during the Gulf War."

"He was a brave man who lost his life during the conflict." Hannah filled in the story that she had heard her entire life.

"He never died Hannah. He is very much alive." Cecilia shared. "We were young and didn't think one night would create your life. He left soon after that night and I never told him about you."

"My father is alive?" Hannah asked, she sat back and thought about what her mother had said.

"He actually works here in DC. I connected with him a few months ago and told him about you. I thought perhaps I'd scared him away with the approach I took." Cecilia looked at her daughter and then took a deep breath. "Oh Hannah, I handled this so poorly. He is interested in seeing you, meeting you."

"Karen mentioned that someone has been coming to see you. Is this man my father?" Hannah asked.

"Yes.." Cecilia coughed again and Hannah tried to give her some water. Cecilia coughed and turned the water away. "Hannah, you are my life. I never wanted to hurt you."

"Momma, please don't think that. I love you so much. You've given me everything that I need. You've been my rock. Your reasons for not telling me doesn't matter anymore." Hannah tried to hide the tears that threatened to fall.

"How could I have ever doubted my girl. I'm just so sorry that I wasn't strong enough to tell you sooner."

"Don't be sorry. I'm not. " Hannah took hold of her mother's hand and sighed as her mother closed her eyes and soon drifted into sleep the confession now complete made Cecilia feel so much lighter. Hannah rang the call bell a few minutes later and the nurse understanding the call came in with the prescribed medication.

"Once this medication gets started in her system she might slip into a coma." Karen shared.

"I know." Hannah nodded. "She's ready." Hannah stayed with her mother for the rest of the night, her husband showed up late that night and the two held vigil.

Gibbs arrived towards the early hours of the morning and watched from a respectful distance as the young couple witnessed the last breath of their parent. More than ever Gibbs new that he needed to make contact, but for the first time in almost his entire life he was unsure how to go about it.


	3. Chapter 3

"I do not remember Gibbs saying anything about a dieing friend." Tony commented as Ziva and he sat in a car some distance from a large group gathered for an internment. Gibbs was standing a safe distance away himself but it was obvious to both agents that it was important for him to be there.

"He didn't" Ziva allowed. She watched her boss as he turned away from the group and headed back to the car.

"Are you alright?" Ziva asked as Gibbs got back into the car.

"I'm fine Ziva, let's head back."

"What ever you say boss." Tony agreed and turned the car around and out of the cemetery.

* * *

"I'm sorry about your loss." Hannah nodded her head and let the people pass on their way out of the cemetery. Hannah smiled when her mother's nurse Karen came to her.

"I just wanted to tell you that I saw your mom's friend. He's over there." Karen shared as the two women hugged. Hannah turned her head towards the rise in the cemetery and saw a man look briefly in her direction and then turn to leave. "I was hoping that he'd come down and see you, but apparently he's the aloof type." Karen smiled sadly.

"I think he's more than aloof." Hannah retuned sadly. "Thanks for pointing him out though."

"You're welcome." Karen then went to say something to Keith. When all the mourners had left, Hannah and her husband crawled into the car and sat close to each other while the driver took them home.

"Do you think Sarah is still in one piece?" Keith asked of one of his platoon buddies who had offered to sit with their daughter while they attended the funeral.

"She made it through basic training, I think she can manage a nineteen month old for a few hours. Lyddi is a handful, but she's fairly easy to redirect." Hannah sighed as she let her husband hold her. The two got out of the car and headed up to their small base house.

"You're home." Sarah greeted with a strange look on her face.

"What's wrong?" Hannah asked thinking something happened with Lyddi.

"I just got a phone call."

"From who?" Keith asked.

"Our CO. You've been called to duty at 1800." Sarah shared and watched as Hannah sunk into the closest chair. "I explained that you were at your mother's funeral. He sounded sorry, but ordered me to tell you upon your return."

"I'll call, see if I can it deferred." Keith told Hannah as he went to grab the phone.

"Hey Hannah it will be alright." Sarah tried to comfort yet Hannah new that it wouldn't be alright. Keith was special ops and when the calls came in he had to go, compassionate leave or not, he were needed.

"I have to go," Keith shared as he came back into the room some time later.

"I know."

"I don't want to leave you alone like this." Keith started.

"I somehow don't think I'll be alone for long." Hannah returned cryptically. "The other wives will find out that you've been shipped and they'll be here soon enough."

"I'll spend the night too." Sarah offered. "I'll sleep on the couch for tonight."

"That would be great. I've said good bye to Lyddi, I promise I'll be home as soon as I can." Hannah walked Keith to the door. "I called someone to pick me up so you can stay here."

"I love you." Hannah whispered as they shared one last kiss.

"Back at yah." Keith returned and left. Hannah watched from the front step as her husband left. She could here Sarah putting things away in the kitchen and then she heard her daughter crying.

"I can get Lyddi for you." Sarah offered as Hannah came back into the house.

"No, I'll go get her. Thanks for you help." Hannah returned and went to the back of the house. He daughter stood in her crib.

"Momma!" Lyddi called with a smile. Hannah picked up her daughter and held her close as they sat down in the rocking chair. Hannah couldn't contain the tears that welled in her eyes and buried her face in her daughters hair, her heart breaking for the loss of her mother and now the absence of her husband.

* * *

Gibbs sat in the car just down the street from Hannah's house for what seemed like hours. He had watched Hannah come back from some type of program with her daughter carrying several bags and having the toddler walk unsteady beside her. He had been impressed by the patience that Hannah had shown her daughter. It had been a few hours since she had gone inside the house, and despite all his self talk Gibbs still was unsure how to take this next step. The phone rang and Gibbs answered it.

"Gibbs here." Gibbs announced.

"Gibbs! I came up to the office and was told that you weren't in today! Are you alright? Are you feeling okay? Is there anything I can get for you?" Abby's voice filled the line. Gibbs paused, there was probably a lot of things that Abby could do right know for him, but he didn't want to fill the woman with thoughts

"I'm fine Abby." Gibbs assured.

"Tony said you took a personal day." Abby paused. "You never take a personal day. The last time you took a personal day you moved to Mexico and I thought you'd be gone for good. Tell me you are not planning to go to Mexico today are you?"

"No Abby, I am not going to go to Mexico today." Gibbs continued to sooth.

"I will not believe you until I see you again. You will be tomorrow?" Abby asked.

"Yes, I'll be in tomorrow."

"I might call you again to make sure that your phone hasn't been turned off." Abby shared.

"I'm always here for yah Abbs." Gibbs assured.

"I know." Abby hung up then. As Gibbs listened to the phone loose it's signal he thought about what he had just said. He always assured Abby that he was there for her, and now he was sitting like some guilty school boy trying to stay out of head master's office. Gibbs got out of the car and strode with more authority than her felt to the front door and knocked.

* * *

Hannah heard the door and sighed as put down the paint roller. She had hoped that she would be able to get the last coat of paint on the wall before anyone came over. She had told Pauline that she had wanted Lyddi to sleep before she came over with the boys. Grabbing a towel she wiped the paint of her hands and went to answer the door. As she got closer to the door she realized it wasn't Pauline as she would have been in the door by now. She opened the door and her heart skipped a beat.

"Hannah Jenkins?" The man asked.

"Hannah Douglas actually.." Hannah corrected. "My students used to call me Ms Jenkins, but since I haven't been teaching I go by my married name." Hannah paused.

"My name is Leroy Jethro…"

"Gibbs.. I know. Come in." Hannah opened the door a little further in order to let Gibbs into the room. Hannah led Gibbs down the short hallway into the kitchen sitting area.

"You know my name." Gibbs started.

"My mother, she was always a woman of few words. She told me about you, but left some letters and things with more information. I found it while I was going through her things." Hannah shared and pointed to the chair at the table.

"So you know who I am?" Gibbs continued.

"Yes, but if you wanted to share your side of the story that would be great." Hannah shrugged.

"Hannah, you have to know that I didn't know about you till just a little while ago." Gibbs started. "I would never have known about you if you mother hadn't contacted me."

"I know. Momma didn't share with me until the very end." Hannah admitted and looked sadly at the pictures that covered the wall.

"I met with your mother after that."

"I know that too. The Hospice nurse told me that Momma had had a visitor."

"We talked a lot." Gibbs admitted. "She told me some stories."

"I'm glad that she was able to do that. Her last few days appeared to be good." Hannah agreed. "I can't say that she told me much about you with her words, but she did leave me this." Hannah stood and went to the coffee table. She pulled the small book off the table and brought it to him. Gibbs looked at Hannah. "You can look at it." Gibbs opened the book to find several of the newspapers articles about him throughout the past twenty years. Several notes from the Marine news, and then some information about some of the other community things that Gibbs had been involved in.

"I think she paid closer attention to you than you think." Hannah finished wisely and Gibbs nodded.

"I had some tests done Hannah.." Gibbs started, he was interrupted by a small cry from the bedroom.

"I will be right back." Hannah informed and went to answer the child. Gibbs looked over at the wall of pictures and was drawn to a few of them right away. Hannah's graduation picture, her husband's military photo. Hannah's wedding photo, she wore a simple long white dress her hair crowned with flowers. Her hands full of wildflower and her feet bare. Her husband was dressed in his service uniform both of them had a smile that started in their faces and continued into their eyes. Then a small photo of their daughter and family portrait of the three of them and Cecilia. Gibbs looked away when he heard Hannah coming back into the room with the small child.

"She's a little shy at first, it won't last long" Hannah admitted as she let Lyddi rest her head on her shoulder. "Lyddi, I'd like to introduce you to your Papa." Gibbs looked slightly surprised when the little girl lifted her head up off her mothers shoulder and waved at him.

"Hannah.." Gibbs started and as they stood awkwardly in the kitchen, Lyddi broke through the tension with two little arms reaching out to be held by the man in the room.

"I told you it wouldn't last long." Hannah nodded. "Let's go for a walk. The park isn't far from here and Lyddi loves the swings."

"Swings? Yahhh!" Lyddi clapped.

Hannah grabbed a few things and the keys to the house and as the three of them left. "As I said earlier, Momma was a woman of few words, but when she shared something with you she really believed in what she said. If my mother told me that you are my father and the tests that you said you did confirm it, I guess its true." Hannah locked the door. "The next step in this journey will to be to keep walking forward, and maybe we can do it together if you interested in doing it."

Gibbs held onto the small body in his arms and looked down at the young woman who said such wise things and nodded. "I'd like that."

"Me too." Hannah smiled and walked they walked down the street.


	4. Chapter 4

**A short chapter just to keep the story moving. I've more to come. Thanks for all the support with the reviews. **

* * *

"You are looking very happy this morning! I'm so glad to see you are okay!" Abby greeted enthusiastically throwing her arms around Gibbs's neck. Gibbs paused pulling his one hand out to avoid spilling his coffee and wrapping the other around Abby.

"Good morning to you as well Abby."

"I am very glad to see you this morning as well Gibbs, I was afraid that Abby was going to obtain another cow this morning if you did not come in on time." Ziva greeted.

"Have.." Tony corrected. "The word is have."

"Well, I am still glad that Gibbs came back to work today as I was not going to be able to handle Abby's frantic behaviour again today if he didn't." Ziva rolled her eyes.

"Well everyone can rest easy, I'm back today to work. Will someone give me a report or will I have to find it myself." Gibbs suggested and seeing that Gibbs was back to work Abby skipped off back to her lab. Tim came around the desk and started to talk.

* * *

"Abby what is it?" Tim asked as the three agents arrived in Abby's lab later on that day.

"I think Gibbs is hiding something from us." Abby announced and turned back to her computer.

"Whatever makes you think that?" Ziva asked confused.

"Well, for one thing he never takes a personal day, and he has been an absolute recluse up to today and now he appears to be himself again." Abby started to count off her concerns.

"We've all noticed that Gibbs has been distracted lately." Tony countered.

"Gibbs is a very private man. Perhaps he needed to take yesterday off to resolve his problems. Abby it is none of our business." Ziva reminded.

"Oh I think that is not so true my Stoic friend. Gibbs just doesn't snap out of his deep thinking behaviour like he did today. Plus I have evidence that he was just not hanging out at home yesterday." Abby hit a key on the screen and up popped some test results.

"What is this?" Tim asked as he came closer.

"A paint chip that I found on my lab floor a few hours ago. Gibbs was here looking for some results to the case. He apparently tracked a few of these paint chips off his shoe. Now I ask you why would Gibbs be painting something the colour of 'Enchanted'?" Abby asked. "Nothing in his house has this colour too it."

"Maybe he was helping out a friend?" Tony offered.

"A female friend perhaps?" Abby asked.

"Does this really matter Abby? If Gibbs has a personal relationship happening it is none of our business."

"It does matter Ziva don't you see? Normally by now if Gibbs had a woman in his life he wouldn't be quiet." Abby shook her head. "Plus the color Enchanted is more for little girls than older woman that Gibbs is attracted too. I have other proof too."

"What proof is that." Tony asked and Abby looked down at the floor.

"I can't tell you, but trust me it's important in discovering the truth behind Gibb's unusual behaviour." Abby tried to elude too the tests that she had done a few weeks ago, but Gibbs had asked her not to say anything about them and she didn't want to be disloyal to her friend.

"Well Abby, we're going to let you continue down this path of thought on your own. We've got a dead Marine to figure out what happened too. If you find anything related to that case can you let us know?" Tony smiled and turned to go.

"You're not going to help me figure out who this mystery person is in Gibbs life?"

"Nope, I think you'll have better luck if you try to figure this one out on your own." Tim agreed.

"Ziva? Not even you?" Abby asked looking somewhat stricken by the lake of interest.

"I have noticed that Gibbs is happier today. I would prefer to work with that Gibbs, how he got that way can remain a mystery to me for now. My advice to you my friend is to be careful and not interfere." Ziva nodded and turned to go.

"I don't need your help, I'll figure this out on my own." Abby called out as they left her lab and headed back to the elevator, Abby turned back to her computer. "Silly Agents." Abby mumbled and looked over at Burt. "I'm going to get to the bottom of this if it's the last thing I do."


	5. Chapter 5

Hannah pulled her hair off her face and pushed the stroller up onto the grassy part of the playground. Lyddi struggled to get out of the stroller when she saw the playground.

"Out! Out!" Lyddi announced to her mother.

"I'm trying sweetheart.. Give momma one minute!" Hannah laughed.

"Swing!" Lyddi continued with a whine trying to untangle herself from the stroller straps. Hannah laid the quilt down on the grass and then went to unlatch her impatient child from her prison.

As she started towards the playground Hannah saw Gibbs coming across the park. Hannah couldn't help but smile as he came closer.

"You made it." Hannah greeted as Gibbs joined them as they made it to the swing. Gibbs helped Hannah get Lyddi into the swing and looked at Hannah.

"I couldn't think of a better way to spend the afternoon." Gibbs shared as they soon found themselves toddling through the playground with Lyddi. Gibbs soon realized that Hannah new many of the families that played and he thankful that Cecilia had encouraged Hannah to be aware of others in her community.

"Oh Lyddi no that's dirty!" Hannah called out as she caught her daughter trying to put some playground dirt into her mouth. "If you're hungry lets go have our snack!" Gibbs rescued the little girl and followed Hannah back to the quilt.

"Have you told anyone about me yet?" Hannah asked as she cleaned Lyddi's hands with a cloth and handed the little girl some grapes and her sippy cup of water. Gibbs looked at her with the a strange look. "It's harder than you thought huh?" Hannah asked.

"Have you told Keith yet?" Gibbs returned back.

"I haven't spoken with him in two weeks." Hannah shared with a strange look on her face.

"Is that normal?" Gibbs asked, knowing somewhere in the back of his head that it wasn't.

"Sometimes, depends on what his deployment is. My friends husband hasn't been in touch either and they are on the same mission." Hannah admitted.

"Two weeks is a long time." Gibbs new about protocol.

"I know. I'm hoping to hear from him soon." Hannah nodded and looked down at her daughter who had crawled into Gibbs's lap.

"Papa." Lyddi asked held a grape in her hand an offered it to Gibbs. Her small hand went towards his mouth and Gibbs opened his mouth and let the toddler put the grape in.

"More?" Gibbs asked and when the little girl looked at the empty bowl, Gibbs took hold of the small hand and gobbled it up making Lyddi squeal with glee. Gibbs soon had the child in a full roll of giggles and as he stopped her small voice begged for more. Hannah couldn't help but laugh along with her child.

"You are so good with her." Hannah admitted as Lyddi fell asleep in Hannah's lap. "She's already taken with you."

"I've not had a small child in my life for a long time." Gibbs admitted.

"Having Lyddi in my life right now has been a Godsend." Hannah looked lovingly down at Lyddi.

"You are a good mother." Gibbs complemented. "You had a good teacher."

"Momma wasn't perfect Gibbs. Let me tell you. She wasn't the easiest person to get along with growing up but she did try." Hannah reminisced. "So are you going to tell your team about me?" Hannah got back onto topic.

"Do you want me too? Do you want them to know about you?" Gibbs asked seriously.

"I guess they already know that something is different. Do they suspect anything?"

"One of them has figured some things out." Gibbs returned.

"Who?"

"My Forensic Scientist. Her name is Abby." Hannah asked.

"How do you know that?" Hannah asked with a little surprise in her voice.

"Well for one thing she is persistent in getting the answers that she wants at whatever cost and the second is that she's coming up the pathway towards us as I speak." Gibbs shared and raised his eyebrows to the woman with black pigtails and wearing a pair of unusually high platform boots to match the odd Goth style outfit standing out in the playground full of children and families wearing running shoes and play clothes.

"Hi Gibbs, funny meeting you here on this beautiful sunny afternoon. I didn't think you enjoyed playgrounds. Too many people." Abby greeted and turned to Hannah.

"Hello, my name is Abby, I work with Gibbs, who you are?"

"Hannah. Hannah Douglas." Hannah greeted. "Would you like to join us?" Hannah asked and Abby smiled and proceeded to sit down.

"Don't mind if I do." Abby looked at Gibbs with an innocent look.

"Well Gibbs, Abby made the first move. Shall we let her in on our secret?" Hannah asked.

"I don't normally work this way." Gibbs started.

"Well we're full of firsts these past few weeks. Lets do this together." Hannah smiled and somehow found pleasure in Gibbs's apparent discomfort. "Abby you've already figured out some things or you wouldn't be here. NCIS people are known for their skills in solving cases I suspect."

"We are the best." Abby agreed.

"Abby, Hannah was the DNA sample that you did for me." Gibbs got out.

"The 99.9% match one?" Abby continued.

"Yes." Gibbs managed.

"Hannah that makes you Gibbs's daughter? This is your granddaughter?" Abby looked more and more excited and Hannah couldn't help but laugh. "Oh I don't know who to hug first! I'm so excited! Welcome to the family! Oh Gibbs finally!" Abby threw her arms around her friend. "You're so lucky! The baby is so cute!"

"Abby!" Gibbs tried to calm her down. "You need to calm down, or you'll wake the baby."

"Oh I almost forgot! Sorry." Abby nodded.

"So now that Abby knows, does that mean the rest of your team will be next?" Hannah asked. Hannah and Abby both looked at Gibbs and all he could do was look away leaving the silence as his answer.

* * *

Something was wrong. Keith never went this long without being in contact. She picked up the phone and started to dial but put the phone down. Hannah went to the window and looked out at the dreary day, the ran fell making the day appear dark as evening. Hannah jumped when she heard a crash and turned to see Lyddi pulling out another toy from the box in the middle of the room. Hannah went and sat on the couch and watched Lyddi play for a few minutes.

"Hey Lyddi, do you want to go and see Papa at work today?" Hannah asked and Lyddi looked up and smiled.

"Papa?" Lyddi asked.

"Come on my love. I think Papa might be able to help us connect with Daddy."

"Dada?" Lyddi asked again and Hannah nodded. "Okay!"

Hannah was surprised with how easy it was to get into where Gibbs worked, and she and Lyddi were escorted up to the floor in which she would find Gibbs. Getting off the elevator Hannah felt horrible butterflies in her stomach.

"Hannah?" Gibbs asked as he saw her coming around the office divider.

"Hi. I.." Hannah struggled to start a sentence.

"What's wrong?" Gibbs asked as he escorted Hannah away from his team for a few minutes.

"Keith, it's been almost six weeks. I haven't heard anything from him. No one at HQ is able to answer any of my questions. They just keep passing me off to another clerk. I have a feeling…" Hannah explained softly. Lyddi was squirming in her arms and reaching Gibbs.

"Papa!" Lyddi called out and Gibbs reached for the child. He then put a hand onto Hannah's back and started to guide her towards the back of the office.

"Hannah, give me a bit of time. I'll see what I can find out."

"Were are we going?" Hannah asked.

"Down to Abby." Gibbs told her.

"Okay." Hannah sighed as she heard Gibbs say that he would look into it. "I could just go home again."

"You're here now, you might as well stay close by." Gibbs sighed.

"Papa eat!" Lyddi held her hand to Gibbs's mouth and as the door to the elevator closed, Gibbs played the now familiar and loved game with Lyddi.

* * *

"Who was that?" Ziva asked as she looked at her fellow team members.

"Did I hear that child say Papa?" Tony added.

"Abby was trying to get us to listen to her when she called us down to her lab. I think I now know why Gibbs would have paint of his shoes." Tim agreed.

"Gibbs does not have any children or grandchildren." Ziva continued to question.

"That we know of." Tim reminded.

"You don't think?" Tony slid forward on his desk.

"Anything is possible with Gibbs." Tim shrugged.


	6. Chapter 6

Music was blaring from Abby's lab as the came down, when she looked up and saw the three Gibbs's she quickly turned off the music.

"Abby can Hannah and Lyddi stay with you for a bit?" Gibbs asked as he came into the lab.

"Sure!" Abby returned and came closer to "Are you here for a friendly visit?"

"Not quite. I'm going to go and speak with the Director." Gibbs told Hannah. "I'll get back to you as soon as I can. You're in good hands with Abby."

"Your in hands that know about you." Abby corrected and Gibbs gave Abby a stern look, kissed Lyddi on the head and handed the child back to Hannah and laid a hand on Hannah's shoulder.

"I'll be back."

"Okay." Hannah nodded and watched Gibbs leave.

"He hasn't told his team yet." Abby shared. "Ducky knows because I had to tell him, but the others are still trying to figure it out."

"I'm not judging Abby. He has to figure out how this works for himself." Hannah returned wisely. "Although I think I messed up his plans."

"Come on, I have a safe place for Lyddi over here and then I'll show you around my Lab." Abby offered.

"I'd like that." Hannah nodded and followed the strangely dressed yet friendly woman.

* * *

"We've been following the situation, but we've not been able to get any information due to the radio silence with the team on the front." Director Vance admitted.

"Yet it's been close to six weeks since the team has made contact stateside. What exactly is the mission they're on?" Gibbs asked and Director Vance shook his head.

"We're still trying to establish that. They went with one set of papers and as they've gone deeper into the mission they've kept changing things." Vance shared. "It really isn't in NCIS jurisdiction."

"I understand that Director." Gibbs nodded. "I'll try to let Hannah know."

"I'll see what I can do." Vance sighed as he realized that Gibbs was actually asking for a personal favour not for himself but for his new family.

"I'd appreciate it."

"Is Hannah here?"

"She's with Abby." Gibbs shared.

"Maybe I could meet her before she leaves?" Vance asked.

"I have a few more introductions to do first." Gibbs nodded and left the Director's office.

* * *

Hannah let Lyddi walk into the main office space again following Abby. Hannah walked slowly so Abby played along and crept.

"Are you sure this is okay?" Hannah asked as they came closer to Gibbs's team. "This is really Gibbs's choice on who I should meet."

"You are here now, you might as well as meet them." Abby decided and just as they came into view all three team members stood up and joined them in the middle of the office.

"Well, I'd like to start this introduction with a small but friendly reminder of something I told you a few weeks ago." Abby started with a smirk on her face. "I believe I have found the person who has a room painted with the colour Enchanted." Abby pointed to the toddler who walked towards them holding onto Hannah's hand. "I believe there is also a few flowers and butterflies to off set the light purple."

"Hi.." Hannah smiled at the three other adults, all looking very serious and no one really smiling.

"So, who are you?" Tony asked first.

"My name is Hannah and this little one is Lyddi." Hannah started.

"And you're relationship to Gibbs is?" Ziva asked, yet as Hannah started to share something they were interrupted by Lyddi.

"Papa!" Lyddi gasped with excitement and clapped her hands with a smile, the clapping caused Lyddi to fall off balance and the little girl fell backwards onto her bum. The three team members turned to see Gibbs coming towards them. Gibbs came forward and scooped Lyddi up and stood beside Hannah.

"Hannah I'd like to introduce you to my team. Tony DiNozzo, Ziva David and Timothy McGee." Hannah looked at the three again and shook their hands. "This is Hannah, Hannah and I have just recently be introduced and it turns out that I am Hannah's father. This is Lyddi, Hannah's daughter and I am lucky enough to have her as my granddaughter." Gibbs shared.

"My mother Cecilia and Gibbs new each other while Gibbs was in basic training. My mother chose not to tell me about my father growing up for a variety of reasons. The same reasons she chose not to tell Gibbs about me. It wasn't until her end of life that she thought we should get together." Hannah told the group.

"Your mother was the funeral that Gibbs attended?" Tim asked as the group retreated back to their desks and Hannah and Abby found some chairs.

"I think so. I remember seeing him at the funeral at a distance."

"I am sorry about your loss." Ziva shared. "I know what it is like to loose a mother."

"Thank you." Hannah accepted.

"So what brings you to NCIS headquarters?" Tony asked.

"My husband Keith is on a special mission with his team. He's Special Opps with the Marines. I haven't been able to connect with him in almost six weeks. I was hoping that maybe Gibbs's connections could help elevate my anxiety…" Hannah sighed. Just as Hannah shared the reason Director Vance came out of MTAC and pointed to Gibbs. Gibbs stood up and handed Lyddi off to Tony as he left the office space and headed up the stairs.

Hannah's eyes followed Gibbs up the stairs and into a room.

"They probably have something." Tim shared.

"Hi hi." Lyddi greeted Tony who held her out on his desk.

"Hello…" Tony returned and watched as the toddler reached down for some papers on his desk.

"I'd be careful." Hannah started and watched as Lyddi started to rip the paper. "Oh Lyddi! Those are Agent DiNozzo's work papers. Tata." Hannah scooped her daughter away from Tony.

"You can call me Tony." Tony shared.

"You haven't been around children much have you?" Hannah asked.

"Not that size." Tony admitted and collected the remaining paper off his desk. "They are a bit to small, you can't reason with them. They have no ability to talk about things."

"They need to be changed." Hannah finished. Grabbing the diaper bag, she turned back to Abby. "Do you have a place where I can freshen this child up?"

"I'll show you." Ziva offered quickly and Hannah followed towards the ladies restroom.

"Your husband is a Marine?" Ziva confirmed as she watched Hannah change Lyddi.

"He has been since we met. He was going through school on a Navy scholarship. When we graduated, I went on to teach and Keith started Marine training to start to repay his education. He's been paid up for almost a year, but he's chosen to stay on. He says that Service to his country is in his blood." Hannah looked down at Lyddi.

"You haven't been out of touch for six weeks before with your husband?"

"Sometimes not a phone call, but always an email or a contact made through someone on the base. I've been hitting brick walls for days now." Hannah picked up her daughter. "I thought maybe Gibbs."

"Gibbs will help." Ziva assured.

"I hope so." Hannah sighed and the two left the restroom. Both Gibbs and the Director stood waiting for them when they returned.

"What?" Hannah asked, she didn't like the feel in the room.

"We've received some intel." Gibbs started.

"What does that mean?" Hannah asked again.

"We're not sure, but apparently there has been a convoy that has been ambushed, communication has been difficult and you're husband may be one of them." Director Vance told her

"Are you saying he's been captured?" Hannah asked trying to establish some clarification. "He could be dead?"

"We're still trying to get more information." Gibbs noticed that Hannah looked pale. "Hannah, are you okay?"

"I need to talk with my husband.. You don't seem to understand that I need him to be still okay, he doesn't know about the new family members." Hannah started and her knees wobbled.

"Getting to find out if he is safe is more important then telling him about me." Gibbs looked to Ziva who reached for Lyddi who sensing Hannah's distress had started to cry. Gibbs reached out to grab a hold of Hannah who looked ready to pass out.

"It's not just you Gibbs, Keith doesn't know about the baby." Gibbs had grabbed a chair as the blood rushed around in her head.

"Go get Ducky!" Gibbs yelled over to Abby as he knelt down in front of his daughter. "Hannah, just take a deep breath, we're going to get through this together."

"I don't think I could manage to have a child that would not know it's father." Hannah managed as she slipped her head down onto her father's shoulder and waited for the dizziness to pass


	7. Chapter 7

"Well my dear, you're blood pressure is normal." Ducky shared as Tony brought Hannah a glass of water. "You don't look as pale as you did a little while ago."

"Thank you." Hannah took the water and sipped it. "I feel so embarrassed for nearly passing out like that. I'm normally not so dramatic."

"You received a bit of shock with the information, women in your condition react differently then those that are not carrying a child." Ducky clucked and looked over to Gibbs.

"She's going to be fine." Ducky assured both of them. "How far a long are you?"

"Almost 5 months."

"5 months?" Gibbs asked. "Keith has only been gone for 2 months."

"I haven't been the most regular my entire life and then my mom was so sick and she died I thought maybe it was stress. When I was at the doctors with Lyddi for her 18 month shots, I just asked and I had a blood test done. I just got the call yesterday." Hannah shrugged. "I didn't start showing with Lyddi till almost seven months." She looked to Ducky.

"I have a portable Doppler if you want to hear the baby's heart. It might make you feel better knowing that the baby is doing okay." Abby whispered from the door. She had been listening from the doorway and dashed back to her lab and returned with the small piece of equipment. Hannah lifted her top and Abby run the sensor on her stomach. The room filled with the quick and familiar sound of a baby's heart. Hannah had a few tears fill her eyes as she looked at Gibbs and then back to Ducky and Abby.

"Thank you." Hannah whispered when Abby was done.

"My pleasure." Abby nodded.

"Okay Hannah, let's go rescue Lyddi from my team and get you home."

"What about Keith?" Hannah asked as she let Gibbs assist her to stand up.

"If something comes up they'll call." Gibbs assured and Hannah turned back to Ducky.

"Thank you for your help." Hannah watched as Ducky bowed his head. Abby hugged Hannah before they left the room. As Hannah came upstairs again, Lyddi was being entertained by two very engaged agent. Both Ziva and Tim had created some type of peek a boo game and Lyddi's laughter could be heard throughout the office.

"I'm taking Hannah and Lyddi home." Gibbs told his team.

"Good idea. This child is becoming a little ill tempered." Ziva updated.

"Could have fooled me." Hannah smiled and picked her child up. "It was a pleasure meeting you all, thank you for your help it means more than you know."

"We hope that you receive some positive news soon." Tim offered and the team watched Gibbs leave with his family.

* * *

"You don't have to stay." Hannah sighed as Gibbs started to prepare the couch for the night.

"I know."

"I'm okay here on my own." Hannah continued.

"I know, but I want to stay." Gibbs assured and Hannah nodded her head.

"I'll go get some extra blankets." Hannah returned a short while later. "Good night." Hannah went to Gibbs and gave the man a small kiss on the cheek.

"Good Night Hannah."

"Thank you." Hannah returned before leaving Gibbs alone in the living room for the night.

A babies cry woke Gibbs from his sleep, he jumped from the couch confused momentarily by his location and he became calm again when he heard Hannah in Lyddi's room.

"Sleep my child and peace attend the all through the night.."Gibbs heard Hannah sing the lullaby and paused at the door of the room and watched as the event unrolled, memories of Shannon and Kelly hovering close to the service. Kelly would be just graduating college had she been alive just preparing for this stage in her life.

"Did we wake you?" Hannah asked drawing Gibbs from his memory.

"Not really." Gibbs admitted.

"Lyddi must have had a bad dream. She normally doesn't wake in the night anymore. She's better now." Hannah whispered as she laid the child back into her crib. "I suspect I'll have to transfer Lyddi to a big girl bed soon so I can have the crib for the new baby." Hannah sighed as she closed the door and went in the direction of the kitchen.

"You should go back to bed, it's too early to get up." Gibbs suggested.

"I haven't been able to sleep very well anyways. I was thinking that a cup of warm milk might help." Hannah went to the fridge while Gibbs pulled out a small pot from the cupboard. Hannah poured the milk and the two sat down to wait for it to warm.

"Your team seems nice." Hannah started.

"They are the best." Gibbs admitted with a little pride in his voice. "Although I'll deny it if you ever let them know."

"None of them are married?" Hannah asked again.

"Nope, it's hard with this job to have a family."

"It's hard to have a family with any job Gibbs. Keith has been gone more than he is here. I don't know where he is most of the time, and now he's missing."

"He will be found." Gibbs assured.

"You sound so confident. I guess I should hold to the fact that no one has knocked on my door yet."

"That would be something to keep in mind." Gibbs agreed. "Lets just take it one day at time okay."

"Easy for you to say." Hannah sighed and went to poor some warm milk into a a mug. "Did you want some too?"

"Sure." Gibbs agreed although his years of drinking warm milk had long since past. They sat in silence for a bit before Hannah finally broke through.

"What made you want to meet me?" Hannah asked.

"I haven't always been without a family. I was married, I had another daughter." Gibbs shared his story with Hannah in the darkened kitchen. Hannah reached out her hand and held his while he told her the painful parts.

"I would have loved to have met her." Hannah sighed. "I have always wanted to have a sister or brother."

"She probably would have been excited to have an older sister too. She probably would have taken your appearance in stride. Shannon too probably. " Gibbs smiled softly. "You do have a grandfather who is very much alive though."

"I do? When do I get to meet him?" Hannah asked. She had always wanted grandparents, both of her mothers parents died when Hannah was young.

"I'll have to work that out." Gibbs nodded and Hannah yawned then.

"Maybe I'll try to get a bit more sleep. Lyddi doesn't sleep much past 6 most mornings." Hannah took the mug back to the sink and waved another goodnight. Gibbs continued to sit at the table in the darkened house, feeling for the first time in a long time a sense of home.


	8. Chapter 8

"Hannah?" Gibbs whispered from the door of Hannah's bedroom. Hannah bolted awake when she heard a voice.

"Lyddi?" Hannah asked.

"No, Its me. Listen I just got a phone call." Gibbs started.

"Keith?"

"Come, we'll talk more in the car." Gibbs assured. Hannah nodded and went to grab some clothes, when she came out of the room she saw Tony and Ziva in the kitchen.

"They're going to stay with Lyddi." Gibbs told her and Hannah nodded, two special agents would be able to watch over Lyddi for awhile and Gibbs led her back out to the car. The ride back to the naval yard was quiet. When they got to the NCIS headquarters Hannah was escorted to a large room that appeared to be restricted as it was well secured.

"We are in MTAC. Civilians are normally not allowed in here." Gibbs shared and Hannah realized that she was being given a privilege.

"Your husband's team has just been recovered." Director Vance shared with Hannah. "We've been able to patch in with the medics, he apparently is unconscious but you will be able to speak with the front line corpsman. I think you need to be prepared for that."

"He's alive?" Hannah confirmed.

"He's alive." Vance acknowledged, but said little more. He turned to the control man and nodded. A grainy picture came onto the large screen, Hannah saw several people on the other side. It appeared to be some type of medical facility. A medic stood in front of the screen.

"Mrs. Douglas?" The medic asked and Hannah nodded.

"We recovered your Sergeant Douglas's team at 1100 hundred hours. He has sustained injuries, but he is stable enough to transfer to the base hospital. From there we will be able to reassess his condition and provide a more details." The medic continued to talk but Hannah was unable to understand what he said.

"Can he talk?" Hannah asked.

"Not right now," The medic assured.

"Is the rest of team okay too?"

"I'm unable to share that information with you." The medic shared and Hannah nodded her head it was worth a try to find out more information.

"Can you tell him that I love him when he wakes up. I just am glad that he's safe." Hannah asked and saw the medic's head nod. The picture flickered on the screen and Hannah looked startled.

"The communication connection is becoming unstable." The technician announced.

"Okay, we're going to close it out." Vance nodded and looked at Hannah with a fatherly smile.

With that the screen went black and Hannah whiped the tears that had started to spill over from her eyes.

"Thank you." Hannah sighed and turned back to Gibbs. "It was more than anyone else was able to provide and appreciate it very much." Hannah took a shaky break. "I think I'd like to go home now." Gibbs nodded led Hannah out of the room.

"I now that injury and death come with being in the service but you pray that it doesn't affect your family." Hannah shared as the two left the building.

"I'm sure the base will be in touch with you regarding what's going to happen with your husband and keep you appraised to the condition he is in." Gibbs started.

"Your probably right." Hannah looked out the window and rested it finally and closed her eyes for a moment. "Do you think they'll send him home stateside right away?"

"I don't know. It depends on how stable he is." They pulled into the driveway and got out of the car. When they came into the house Hannah stood shocked at what she saw.

"It's not as bad as it looks!" Tony assured. The man was covered with a variety of foods, Lyddi was sitting in her highchair laughing. Ziva was at the sink trying to clean up the mess on the counter.

"We didn't know what she wanted for breakfast. So we had to guess."

"Lyddi?" Hannah asked as she saw her daughter covered in a mess of food.

"Hannah, why don't you go lay down for a bit. I'll help these two clean up Lyddi and keep her occupied while you rest. Hannah looked uncertain for a moment until she felt the weariness settle in on her shoulders.

"She looks like she might need a bath." Hannah looked over to Tony. "You look like Keith's size. There are some of Keith's civvies in the laundry room. You might find something that isn't covered in mush."

"Go lay down Hannah." Gibbs ordered and Hannah made her way to the bedroom. He turned back to his team members.

"You two are the worst baby sitters I've every met." Gibbs announced. "Go get some clean cloths on DiNozzo. Ziva what did you try to feed this child?"

"Yes Boss." Tony nodded and went to the back room.

"Well we tried the basics first, and then Tony suggested pancakes. It went down hill from there." Ziva shared as she bent down to clean the floor around the highchair.

"Bad news?" Tony asked as he came back into the kitchen.

"Yup." Gibbs nodded. "The details are sketchy, but Keith has been injured and although we were able to speak with the front line medic, information isn't clear. He didn't look very good." Gibbs took the child back into the bathroom and turned on the water, stripped of her clothes and lifted her into the water. "Can you hand me those toys." Gibbs asked and Tony passed over a mesh bag of bath toys and dumped them into the tub.

"Is he going to be okay?" Ziva asked as she too joined the group in the bathroom.

"I hope so for Hannah's sake. It looks like he's had some type of head trauma." Gibbs grabbed the baby wash from the sinks counter and carefully cleaned the food out of Lyddi's hair. Lyddi splashed around in the water pouring the water from the cup back into the tub.

"Hannah is okay?" Tony asked.

"She's exhausted. She's been through a lot these past few months. The prospect of her husband being injured isn't helping." Gibbs started to let the water out of the tub and pointed to the towels that hung on the rack. He covered the little girl up and lifted her up out of the tub and walked her into her room.

"Can you pick out something practical in her closet Ziva?" Gibbs asked.

"Not a problem." Ziva nodded and turned to take a look at the clothes. What she thought was practical. A few minutes later Ziva had found something, Gibbs had managed to diaper the baby, put on an undershirt snapped it closed and was pulling on some socks by the time Ziva brought the clothes over. "Okay?"

"Looks good." Gibbs slid the pants and top onto the child and stood her up. "All clean Lyddi?"

"Swing?" Lyddi asked. Gibbs looked over to his agents.

"I'm going to stay here, can you two manage a walk to the park or should I call Abby?"

"No, we can manage." Tony nodded.

"We will not feed her while we have her outside." Ziva agreed.

"Alright. Eventually you will figure it out." Gibbs handed the child back to Tony. "Hannah keeps the stroller just inside the carport."

"Stroller?" Ziva asked.

"The thing you push these kids in. Has wheels, a spot for your coffee" Tony reminded.

"Oh of course." Ziva nodded.

With the two agents out of the house, Gibbs looked in on Hannah. She was curled up on her side, her face flushed with tears and she held onto shirt of her husband. She hadn't bothered to crawl under any blankets so Gibbs pulled the quilt at the bottom of the bed up over her and left the room.


	9. Chapter 9

Hannah rolled over, she smelled food cooking. Remembering the earlier events she crawled out of bed. She found Gibbs sitting at the kitchen table with several files scattered about.

"You feeling better?" Gibbs asked as she came into kitchen.

"I feel less tired, better I'm not sure." Hannah confessed. "Where's Lyddi?"

"She's having a nap. I think the events of the morning wore the poor kid out." Gibbs pointed to the stove.

"Words out on the base about Keith, one of your neighbours brought over some food. I put it in the oven to keep it warm." Gibbs shared. Hannah went over to the oven and opened it.

"Sally." Hannah told him. "She's a great cook." Hannah pulled a glass out of the cupboard and filled it with water. "I'll wait till Lyddi's up before I try to eat it." Hannah looked around the kitchen. "I'm glad they cleaned up the mess. I've never seen any mess like that before."

"I have." Gibbs noted. Gibbs's phone rang and he grabbed it to answer.

"Gibbs here." Gibbs was quiet for a few moments. "I'm on my way." He hung up and looked over at Hannah. "Are you going to be okay for a bit? I have to go."

"I'm fine. If Sally's been over already this morning, I'm sure she was the first of many people to come." Hannah nodded. "I want to thank you for all your help and support."

"You don't have to worry about thanking me for everything. This is what families do for each other." Gibbs informed and gathered up his things. "Save me some of the food, I'll be back later to have some of it."

"Absolutely." Hannah assured. She followed Gibbs to the door and waved to him as he got into a car driven by Tony.

* * *

"So you call me and tell me about having a Granddaughter and a Great Granddaughter and you look surprised that I'm here?" Jackson Gibbs announced as he came into Gibbs's house later that week. "You've known and not told me? Why would you do that?"

"I didn't want to overwhelm the girl with people." Gibbs shared as he took the bag from his father. "I didn't really want you disrupted from your work either."

"Leroy, this is family we're talking about. Family."

"I know Dad, that's why I called you. I wasn't expecting you to pack up and show up here so quickly though."

"You tell me that you have a daughter who's husband has been wounded in the line of duty, her mother has just died and you've shown up in her life." Jackson went into the front room. "She's probably just spinning now. It's the perfect time for her Grandfather to come in and rescue her from it all."

"I can tell you that Hannah is very capable, she's handling all this remarkably well. I think perhaps your abilities to rescue people might not work as well as you hoped." Gibbs returned dryly.

"I don't care what you think about my abilities as a father son. I've had years of waiting to be a Grandfather and my skills are well prepared." Jackson looked back to Gibbs and then around the front room and dinning room.

"What?" Gibbs asked.

"Were are they?" Jackson asked.

"Home."

"Call them." Jackson told him.

"Now?"

"I've got dinner in the bags there. I'll start cooking it up while you call them and get them over here." Jackson announced and took the bags into the kitchen.

"They've never been here before." Gibbs shared.

"What? You mean to tell me you have been visiting with this girl and her child and you've never invited them over?

"We tend to visit mostly at the park and at her place. There are more things for Lyddi to do there."

"Well tonight is different. Call her and have her come over in about an hour." Jackson then went and crashed through the pots for the things he needed. Hannah arrived an hour later with Lyddi and a small cake.

"My next door neighbour brought the cake over, I didn't make it." Hannah assured as Gibbs met them on the front porch.

"I need to warn you. My father is here."

"You told me that already." Hannah nodded.

"He can be a bit of challenge." Gibbs continued.

"And you can't be?" Hannah returned.

"Point taken." Gibbs laughed softly.

"Hannah?" Jackson asked as they came into the room.

"That would be me." Hannah started and before she new it she was enveloped in a hug so big and so strong it took the wind out of her.

"Dad! She's pregnant go easy on her!" Gibbs yelled out and Hannah was suddenly able to breath.

"Really? Not one great grandkid, but two? How lucky am I this day!" Jackson howled and went to Lyddi who buried her head body into Gibb's for protection. "Alright, this ones a little shy I get it, I'll give her a bit to get to know me. Come on in. Leroy here isn't the best housekeeper, but there is enough space around the table and the food is good." Jackson showed them to the table in the dinning room. Hannah put the cake on the counter in the kitchen and set a small booster seat up on one of the chairs. Lyddi slid into the chair and looked at her mother.

"Eat?" Lyddi asked.

"Great Grandpa made dinner for us tonight." Hannah encouraged and the other two men sat down at the table. Dinner was full of questions and a few stories about Gibbs as a kid. It wasn't long before Jackson made it around to Keith.

"So have you heard any more on the status of your husband?"

"The doctor said he's doing better. He still hasn't been able to talk on the phone, but I'm hoping soon." Hannah shared.

"What was your husband doing in Searria Leon?"

"I don't know. Its classified." Hannah admitted. "I'm just relieved that he's doing better." Lyddi was finished with dinner and squirmed in her seat.

"Down." Lyddi announced and Jackson went to her. The little girl looked strangely at the older man but when she realized that he was going to release her from her prison decided to play it for a few minutes. When Jackson got her out he soon had Lyddi laughing as she was thrown up in the air.

"Be careful, she's just eaten." Hannah warned.

"I'll take my chances." Jackson winked and walked away with the baby.

"I guess that means that we have dish duty?" Hannah asked as she looked over at Gibbs.

"I guess so." Gibbs nodded and the two cleared the table together.

"I've watched other people in your life with Lyddi, are you sure he's okay with her unsupervised?" Hannah asked.

"I think he'll be okay. He raised me." Gibbs admitted and Hannah raised her eyebrows at him. Hannah turned the water on at the sink and the two of them washed the dishes. After dinner Gibbs led Hannah down the backstairs to the basement.

"You build boats?" Hannah asked as she saw a half finished boat.

"I like to use my building skills. I thought maybe I could use my skills and make something for the new baby." Gibbs offered.

"Would you like to make Lyddi's big girl bed?" Hannah suggested.

"I'd like that." Gibbs nodded.

"I'd like that too." Hannah heard a thump a crash and cry of distress from upstairs and both Hannah and Gibbs rushed up the stairs. Hannah came into the living room to see Lyddi standing in the middle of the room crying holding out her hand and Jackson looking guilty with a lamp broken on the floor.

"What happened?" Gibbs asked as Hannah scooped up Lyddi and took her into the kitchen to take a closer look at Lyddi's hand.

"We were swinging." Jackson admitted with a grin. "The lamp got in the way and when it fell to the ground and broke, Lyddi got scared and then well you two showed up."

"Lyddi's fine." Hannah sighed as she came back into the living room. "Wish I could say the same thing about your lamp."

"It's nothing." Gibbs shared.

"It's getting late, maybe I should take this toad home." She went to Jackson. "It was a pleasure meeting you."

"I'll be over tomorrow to visit some more." Jackson offered.

"Thanks for the heads up, I'll remember to put away all my lamps before you get there."

"Ha Ha. You might not have been raised by my son but you've inherited his bad sense of humour." Jackson huffed.

"I think perhaps I'll take that as compliment." Hannah let Jackson hug her and Gibbs walked her to her car.

"Think about the bed thing Gibbs. I'll probably need it sooner than later." Hannah reminded. "Thanks for letting me meet 'Grandpa.'"

"I didn't let you meet him. He just does what he wants sometimes."

"Good night."

"Night."


	10. Chapter 10

"Gibbs we need to talk." Director Vance announced as he walked through the NCIS office. Gibbs looked up from his desk and nodded, following the Director up the stairs into his office.

"I need you to see this." Vance handed a file over to Gibbs, Gibbs took the file and read the report that was in it.

"This sounds like the mission that Hannah's husband was on."

"That's because it was the mission that Sergeant Douglas was on. Apparently there was some major screw ups that caused the leak of valuable intel." Vance told Gibbs.

"What does this have to do with NCIS?" Gibbs asked as he looked through the report more closely.

"Apparently Sergeant Douglas was working under a special ops for an international NCIS team in Sierra Leone" Vance shared.

"So it might be some type of mess created by a NCIS team that could have killed a team of Marines?" Gibbs asked in surprise, although he hadn't met Hannah's husband yet, he could feel the natural protector mode starting to gear up.

"I'm sure there is more to the story than we know." Vance admitted.

"You better believe that there is more of this story than you've been told, and you damn well should find out ASAP." Gibbs returned angrily.

"Agent Gibbs, I will not have you speaking like that to me. You wouldn't be responding like this had you not known Hannah." Vance shot back with the same intensity. "Mistakes happen, it's the risks that we take in this job."

"That's right Director, I wouldn't be responding this way if I didn't know Hannah, the crazy thing is that do know Hannah now and I plan on her sticking around." Gibbs answered. "I don't need it on my conscious that an agency created to help those in the Naval service is also the ones putting them at risk unbeknownst to them." He took that time to turn to leave. "You need to find out the entire story Director, we owe it to that team of Marines that nearly lost their lives, as well as to the families that love them." Gibbs finished before leaving the office.

"I'm going for a coffee." Gibbs announced to his team as he grabbed his coat. "I might be awhile."

"Yes boss." Tim and Tony responded in unison as they watched their team lead leave the office.

"What do you think happened up there?" Tim asked out loud.

"I don't know, but whatever it was it wasn't good." Ziva returned as she looked up the stairs to see the Director watching as Gibbs left the office.


End file.
